I had one of those Dolly Varden cakes for my 9th? birthday. A friend of the family made it for me as a surprise. Absolutely loved that cake (helped that the cake bit was chocolate). Still gives me the warm fuzzies whenever I remember it.

I always wanted one of those doll cakes, though I was bummed out when I learned that it's not a "whole" doll in there but a half doll with a spike instead of legs.

I always wanted one of those doll cakes, though I was bummed out when I learned that it's not a "whole" doll in there but a half doll with a spike instead of legs.

Barbie has such long skinny legs anyway, why couldn't you just stick the whole doll down in there? It wouldn't be that much different from a spike.

Probably because the half doll is cheaper, but if you're giving a Barbie anyway as a gift, I don't see why not stick it in the cake. Or get a cheapie fake Barbie from the dollar store, which still has more "re-play" value than the spike doll.

It's quite a while since that 9th birthday cake but I'm pretty sure it was the whole doll (not a barbie either). The place where I grew up wouldn't have sold spiky cake dolls. Pretty sure they used a pudding tin for the cake to get the shape of the skirt. Plus I would've remembered if the doll was cut in half like there'd been some horrible baking accident.

With the kitsch toilet dolls - these were a common decoration from my childhood. One of my aunts made them as gifts (along with a whole heap of other crafty stuff). She was a total neat freak and I'm sure any doll she made would have germ repelling properties.

I'm sort if disappointed I didn't end up with one although I have heaps of lovely covered coat hangers thanks to her.

I admit to once, only once, making a Barbie (fairy) cake. There's a special cake tin that makes the bell skirt in one piece. The little girl loved it.

The tin also makes a great booby cake too.

The crocheted and knitted TP covers bring back memories. Ghastly things! They always looked dusty and grimy and a little bit kooky. Older Aunts were particularly fond of them. Even worse, the crocheted or knitted bit was often done with that horrible nylon ribbon yarn stuff.

Oh! That reminds me. When I was little they also made Kleenex box covers like that. I always thought "Ewww ... someone blew their nose in one and then grabbed the box with one hand to hold it still to pull out another tissue. Ewww ...!!"

That's really interesting. Most place I visit use air. Walmart has those massive blowers at the entrance. But even small shops have plug in air blowers that sit on top of the door and prevent insects from coming in. They're not that great at regulating the temperature, but work really well for bugs

Most places that use these are rather small and don't have air conditioning.

Ah, I think we may be talking about two different things. What I'm talking about is not air conditioning. It is a horizontal fan that sits on top of the door and blows air down and out. It's not super strong, but its strong enough to prevent bugs from flying through it. Even the small convenience stores in my area have them. And most of those stores don't have a/c

Most places that use these are rather small and don't have air conditioning.

Ah, I think we may be talking about two different things. What I'm talking about is not air conditioning. It is a horizontal fan that sits on top of the door and blows air down and out. It's not super strong, but its strong enough to prevent bugs from flying through it. Even the small convenience stores in my area have them. And most of those stores don't have a/c